GM Canada Workers Vote Today on New Collective Agreement

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

General Motors of Canada workers are heading to the ballot boxes Sunday to vote on a plan that will bring final production of 70,000 trucks a year to Oshawa and new engine production to St. Catharines.

Vote tallies are expected Sunday evening.

Few details about the “framework” of the tentative agreement were announced when Unifor president Jerry Dias presented the plan after 11th hour talks early Tuesday morning.

It was later revealed by The Globe and Mail that Oshawa would perform final assembly of full-size truck bodies produced in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as part of a $400-million investment in the Canadian assembly plant.

GM Canada said in a statement it would “be working with government on potential support, and will provide further details on the investment at the appropriate time, while respecting Unifor’s ratification process.”

Upsides for workers, in addition to production beyond 2019, are wage increases and the conversion of some 700 temporary employees to full-time positions. However, new workers won’t be eligible for a defined benefit or hybrid pension plan, which will save General Motors future legacy costs.

Mark Stevenson
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  • Scwmcan Scwmcan on Sep 26, 2016

    If you think GM didn't know exactly what was happening with the Canadian plants before these negotiations started, you are mistaken, they used the threat of closing Oshawa, to get a contract passed that basically gave nothing to anyone, the new hires did not even get parity with CAMI, the long term employees did not get any incentives to retire (note not saying the deserve them,but the UAW got some last year), the pensioners did not get their PCOLA back, and 700 pensioners who retired before 1987 got a total of $1500 each to help them survive when they don't have enough to live on. In all I don't think anyone(except GM) was really happy with the contract,but it was ratified to save Oshawa. Don't get me wrong I am happy to have a job to go to today, but the Union did not do anyone any favors. I don't know that FCA, and Ford are going to be getting anything like this contract ratified by their members, will be interesting to see.

  • Mikey Mikey on Sep 26, 2016

    All hourly employees will receive $6000 upon ratification. Another $2000 in Dec 17, 18 and 19. Consolidated shuts down , sometime in 2017 ?, At that point, the reduction in head count "should" generate a $50,000 plus a $20,000 car voucher ?? Though i don't see any language to that effect. I also don't see any reference , to what exactly this "new" product allocation is.?? The good news?...The plant will stay open, for the next few years. From my point of view ?? My pension, as it stands, will carry me through to 2019 when I turn 65. At that point I qualify for Old Age Security , but I lose my supplement from GM pension....I can live, AND sleep at night with that deal.

    • See 3 previous
    • Dash riprock Dash riprock on Sep 26, 2016

      HI Mikey, Out of curiosity, is the supplement to your early pension not to replace the CPP until your 65th birthday? Have never heard of the OAS(for Americans the Old Age Security payment,$636ish / month, is from government general revenues and with no contributions from the beneficiary unlike the CPP)being included in early pension schemes. The supplement is to bridge the beneficiary from the date of their retirement to when they would receive the full unreduced amount from CPP which is at 65.

  • Mikey Mikey on Sep 26, 2016

    Hi Dash....Right, the supplement is to carry us to 65. However we can opt for early ,reduced CPP at 60. By my calculations i would need to live till 85 before i recovered the money i didn't receive in the 5 year stretch, from 60 -65. For people like myself, that paid full CPP premiums since i was 18, and receive a company pension, opting for early CPP , IMHO was the right call to make OAS in Canada is about $650 ? However if you have other sources of income, including RRSP's {401 k}. OAS is subject to claw back. At 65i lose my supplement, and my GM pension is reduced to = 36.4 years multiplied by $68.50 = $2,493.00 a month, minus survivor benefit $ 195.00. . I will qualify for OAS and still receive my CPP. One of the concessions we gave up in 2009, was accumulating service past the 30 year mark. I was grand fathered, and still retain my 36.4 years. The folks coming up behind me, can work for 45 years, and still only get a 30 year pension. For that group ? Depending on their health, they would be wise to hold off CPP until they are closer to 65 years old.

    • Dash riprock Dash riprock on Sep 26, 2016

      Thank you. The OAS starts getting clawed back at $72,000(I believe). At 65, you lose the supplement as you are eligible for full CPP. You took early CPP and now benefit from that and the supplement right? Pensions become more interesting the closer you are to accessing them. My wife is a public servant earning a little north of $100,000. At retirement she will get(if she stays to get full benefits) 70% of her best 5 years of income. The 70% is is composed of CPP and the public pension. So, if her pension was $70,000, and CPP is $13,000, the public pension is responsible for the rest. Even when she retires at 56 with full pension, she may access early CPP as it may make sense tax wise. Me, surviving my retirement years on my RRSP's and TFSA's. Little bit more risk than my wife's retirement income.

  • Tresmonos Tresmonos on Sep 26, 2016

    Mikey & scwmcan: What prevents GM from closing Oshawa prior to the next contract? Shipping bodies and frames to an assembly line and paint shop is hardly job security. I really need to pick the brain of my friend at Ft. Wayne... Thank you both for dissecting this for us. We truly don't deserve your perspectives but I am so thankful for them.

    • Scwmcan Scwmcan on Sep 26, 2016

      Hi Tresmonos, As I recall there are guarantees in the contract that Oshawa will stay open till the end of the contract, and I seem to recall them saying there was work past the contract, of course all I have is the pamphlet to go by and it just talk about new investment for Oshawa. I know St. Catharines got gauantees for three shifts of the V6 till the end of the contract by picking up volume from the Mexico plant (which they said is being shutdown, but I suspect is really being retooled) and Flint. We are also getting a new variant of the v6, and an update to the V8 and transmission.

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